I'm not really understanding the hype. The first few episodes are pretty good and lay a solid foundation for the rest of the season, building a strong background for Denji and Power. Denji getting his powers is a very entertaining scene, and the animation throughout the season is quite good. As I get further into it, I'm finding it hard to get attached to more of the characters. Denji's whole goal in life is to get with a girl, which isn't a problem in itself because I understand why it's important to the story for his main goal to align with him just wanting to be a normal teenager. My problem is that it quickly gets way out of hand, especially with other characters taking advantage of this, like Himeno and Makima; are we forgetting this kid is 16!? The kiss scene in the bar with the vomit is actually disgusting, and I fail to see why that, along with her taking him home after, was necessary. If it was for a segue to add the scene where they become friends, so that in later episodes shes "the first person who wanted to become Denji's friend" (writers trying to make her death feel more impactful), it failed again, I mean, there are so many other ways that could have been done. I think that without that whole part, her death would have been so much more impactful. They tried to make this scene so powerful and sad, but it was really lost. Since I didn't like her character, I didn't care that much about her death, and that really ruined the impact of the last few episodes. Her whole character also ruined the way I view Aki and his motivations. Though his backstory and motivations for wanting to fight the gun devil stem from his family, they shift into him wanting revenge because his partner died, which annoys me because I feel no sympathy towards Himeno. Next, Makima, her character, is very weird. She is pretty badass and has very cool powers, which I can appreciate, but she's essentially grooming Denji, which makes me not like her. I think she has the potential to be a cool character, especially if she turns out to be a villain, but we barely get any time with her, so we don't know how she feels or thinks.

The only characters I actually like are Aki and Power. Power's character is done really well; she's a morally gray, misunderstood devil, which ties into Denji's ideal of being able to befriend a devil and allows room for change in Aki's belief that all devils are enemies and must die. Denji and Power also add some comedic relief, which I can appreciate.

Even though I just shit-talked this anime, overall I enjoyed watching it. There are some redeeming things about it. I think the concept is kind of cool, and, of course, the fight scenes are pretty well done, though the pacing of some is a bit rushed and others a bit drawn out. The powers that people get from the devils are also interesting. Aki's fox devil and Himeno's ghost devil contracts both give them unique ways to fight. The short introduction of the new fiends at the end of the season also gives some potential for the next season, as their integration, if done well, could be fun to watch. I think the 12 episodes lay the groundwork for the next season, which hopefully will be better now that it seems like Denji is straying away from his obsession with being intimate with a woman. (In the last episode, he says his motivation is "protecting the life he has now" instead of whatever BS he normally says.) We're left with a lot of questions/things to look forward to —what is Makima's end goal/what is the extent of her powers, what are Aki's new powers, what's going to happen with the gun devil, etc., etc. I'm also interested to see if/how Aki and Denji's relationship develops, and how Denji not having a human heart anymore will affect how he views the other characters.